Post War and Wright

In the Introduction to British Politics by Wright, in the very first pages, he describes the British government as a “strong government.” He continues to state that the transition democracy didn’t weaken the British government, but rather strengthen it. The British government was also became stronger and maintained stability during World War II. But we see in The PostWar that this was not the case in Germany. Germany endured extreme circumstances after World War II. The government as well as the economy almost collapsed. As Judt states, The war was not over 1945, he states that millions died after 1945 in result of the war. In Europe a mostly non-democratic, but communist states, were defeated and must rebuilding was needed in Europe? So why didn’t Europe, especially Germany, move towards democracy?

Judt probably answers this question in his book, but I haven’t gotten that far. :/ (hopefully I will). Judt says in Post war that some might say that many would say that the reason for Britain’s stability was planning. In agreement with Judt, I don’t think that this is the answer. In Britain very little planning took place. The real issue was control. The British government nationalized everything from railroads, mines, and transportation. The government took control of everything in Britain Post War. Although this control help stabilize Britain as a whole, I believe the fact that the British didn’t turn away from the government of “tradition” is the main reason for such success. The British knew what they wanted and never attempted to change the make-up of their government, but only make alterations as they went along, as Wright says. The Unconstitutional government of Britain help them transition through the Post war in my opinion, Bottom Line.


This is not to say that British has the perfect government. Like all political structures, I believe it has its flaws and some that in my opinion will cause problems in the future. One thing that grabs my attention the party system in Britain. Wright says that parties are organizers of political choice. I take this to mean that parties can sway people to think a certain way on a topic, even if they don;t agree with it, because they are apart of a certain party. Wright says that party politics in which disciplines of party loyalty stifle independent though and action. People will conform for some ideas that they naturally disagree with. I believe, like Wright that the party system may not still be OK for British politics and it is going to have to change, if it wants to continue to be a "strong" government.